Bitter Melon Soup a.k.a. Ku Gua Tang

When life gives you bitter melons, make soup!

My mom makes really delicious soups for the wintry weather in Toronto. Even with the eternally sunny weather here in LA, I think about them a lot - especially the distinct taste of her bitter melon soup! I can thank this soup for introducing my palette at a young age to the realm of bitterness -- i mean, bitter foods and asian medicinal soup. Trust me, your tongue will be stretched.

Ku Gua Tang 苦瓜湯 Recipe by Jackie's Mom (Replicated by Jackie)

Ingredients (6-8 Big Bowls)

1 bittermelon, seeds scooped out and green parts sliced into semi circle chunks
3/4 cup of dried goji berries
8-10 shiitake mushrooms (in chinatown, I get a 20 pack for $3.50)3 large pork neck bone/pork bones of some sort (in chinatown I get the frozen clearance pork bone bag which has about 7-8 huge pieces for $3.50)3 T of veggie bouillon
OPTIONAL: dried anchovies, more chinese medicinal herbs like jujubes, ginseng or other roots

Before.

Directions with Pressure Cooker

Put everything in and pour water to just cover the ingredients, maybe slightly less.